ENDOSCOPY MONDAY- VERY SCARED!

Thank you! I am just very worried and nervous. Scared of them having to hold me down and me not knowing since I'll be under GA. I've been on omperazole which is for acid reflux so I'm not sure what they are going to give me if something is wrong. BLAH!!

Sounds like acid reflux to me, Chelsea. I had it myself for a long time, still get occasional bouts, but managed to work out what the triggers were and avoid them.

If you're really having a GA, no one will need to hold you down. A few very nervous people are given a full GA. If you're having sedation you won't remember a single thing about it anyway so you don't have anything to worry about.

I have heard that even with GA, things happen it just scares me. Not to mention I cannot stop burping!!! I belch constantly for no reason

I don't think its a GA as you will just be sedated but will still know what is going on. Don't be scared as thousands of people have it done very day and the risk is  probably less than crossing a busy road!!l

Thanks Jane! You're probably right.. I guess it's hard trying to figure out why I'm 21 and healthy and this had to happen to me.. Ugh, things happen though!

No, that's not true. I'm a former nurse and have also had a gastroscopy. If you're having a full GA it will definitely not be necessary to hold you down as you'll be completely unconscious.

And, as I said, even if what you're having is just sedation, someone your age - who will be given the maximum dose of sedation allowed - will definitely not remember anything about it afterwards. The horror stories on these forums are from the over-65s, who only get minimal sedation.

The burping thing can often be a nervous reaction. Some people swallow more air than others without realising they're doing it, which makes them burp all the time. However, since you're getting other symptoms, I still think it would be a good idea to go through with the test to find out whether there is anything physically wrong. If the doctors do find something, they'll almost certainly be able to treat it with medication. If they don't find anything physically wrong - which does sometimes happen - there are all sorts of other solutions, including anti-anxiety meds or even cognitive behavioural therapy.

Get it over with, then you can concentrate on getting well again.

I suffer from anxiety , so if I can get through it  ok anyone can! I think the reason I gagged a lot was because I kept swallowing, tI wasn't as bad with the first one I had though. ( I wasn't sick at all!) if I had to have another one in the future I would still opt for the spray. I didn't think they would give full sedation just for that??

It could be diet related? Do you drink fizzy drinks etc or eat hot spicy food?? I do find that by cutting down on certain things like tomatoes, wine and chocolate it really does help! ( although sometimes we all need the odd treat!

Sedation and general anaesthesia are two entirely different things. They're reluctant to go for GA on both cost and risk grounds, but may agree to it in the case of an unusually nervous patient. So-called "conscious sedation", which is the usual kind of sedation used (if any), normally causes complete amnesia after the event, regardless of whether or not the person was unconscious - and they're usually not. Therefore, the final outcome is the same as if they had actually been unconscious. What you don't remember can't hurt you.

Over-65s are only given a vert small dose of sedation, which may actually make things worse. Very low doses of benzos can suppress the higher intellectual centres, which would have helped them to cooperate, effectively putting them into a primal state, where they struggle violently... and remember the whole thing afterwards!

When hearing horror stories about gastroscopy under sedation, you always need to take into account the age of the person.

Okay I'm sorry I think I am getting confused and confusing everyone. I am getting sedated, my doctor made it clear to me that I wasnt "going under".. I thought that was called general anesthesia but maybe I am confusing myself. All I know is that the nurse called and talked to me and said that I wouldn't remember it and that I would probably fall asleep... I should have asked exactly what it was called but I forgot...

What the nurse told you is exactly right. You'll probably fall asleep and even if you don't, you won't remember anything about it afterwards. You really don't have anything to worry about.

Jane, I have definitely been changing my diet! Still no results after 3 months. I barely eat

Thanks lily! You did help it's nice to know that I'm just being sedated and not "going under"... I just want to make sure I wasn't given medicine that would interfer with my breathing because that's a lot of what I have read and been scared of... Breathing problems.. and I guess I was confusing sedation with GA thinking they were the same... Hopefully all goes well and hopefully the problem is fixed easily

Well, it's good that you are getting it done then so you can  then relax and get back to normal, I do wish you good luck, let us know on here how you get on?

Thank you!! It's on Monday.. I will post how it went after. Pray for me!

Afterwards you will wonder why you worried so much, It's not as bad as you imagine

I hope so!!! I want to look back and laugh about it lol

What kind of nurse were you? You are very familiar with this, which is nice... So the risks that are associated with GA aren't associated with sedation, correct? I think that was my big fear..

Just a general nurse. It was called State Registered Nurse back then, but more or less equivalent to Registered General Nurse now. These days there are very few risks associated with either GA or sedation, but still fewer with the latter, especially in someone your age. Approximately zero in fact. As Jane said - probably a lot safer than crossing the road, and I don't imagine you agonise over that every time, do you?

Good luck for Monday!

Haha I sure don't! Well you and Jane have definitely helped put me to ease and I hope you both know that I appreciate it. I've got to suck it up and get to feeling better. Thanks so much!! I'll post on Monday